Bernard Madoff sentenced to 150 Years in Prison
Poor Bernie. How does that sound? I can certainly appreciate the fact that he has been sent to prison for a long, long time. But it still leaves a stale taste in my mouth.
Not that I ever had the chance to be part of his ponzi game, nor am I a direct victim of his wrong doings. But we all suffer the consequences from his pride (see below). He and a large number of other people, less smart, less convincing but with at least as much “power” are responsible for the worldwide economic crisis.
What I don’t get is why he an others could trick ordinary and extraordinary people in such a profound way. Well, you might say, those people now pay for their greed. And greed is what they drove into the hands of Mr. Madoff and alike. And while you are right, and greed is – in many, many cases – the root of all evil, we had set up institutions worldwide to protect us from our own greed if you will.
Institutions like the SEC in the US and similar agencies across the globe are meant to protect us from ourselves. Among many other things. So the most pressing question is what will happen to those institutions and folks working there? Will they be prosecuted, punished, sentenced?
And BTW, Bernard L. Madoff is human after all, right?
“Mr. Madoff had apologized for the harm he inflicted on the clients who had trusted him, his employees and his family. He blamed his pride, which would not allow him to admit his failures as a money manager.”
Now, that makes us all feel much better, doesn’t it? That and that his wife will not have said “Honey I’ll wait until you’re back.”
